Casket drop



July 29, 194.1. RfJ. DoNNELLY GASKET DROP l Filed Jan. 22, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 July 29, 1941.l I R. J. DoNNELLY GASKET DROP Filed Jan. 22, 195e 2 sheets-sheet 2 Patented July 29, 1941 UNITED TES is'r este GASKET DROP Richard J. Donnelly, Cleveland, Ohio, assigner to F. H. Hill Company, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio, a

corporation of Ohio Application January 22, 1938, Serial No. 186,268

6 1 Claims.

tion of a casket drop or ledge roll Which is simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, durable and -ecient for the purpose for which it is intended.

Another object of the. invention is the production of a dro-p or ledge roll which is lightweightl and which is not clumsy or bulky.

Another object of the invention is the production of a drop or ledge roll which is so constructed as to permit closing and opening of the casket Without wrinkling the tailored Yinterior, and in which there are no rigid parts t-o interfere with body adjustment when closed.

The invention has among its further objects the production of a drop or ledge roll which is not only soft and yieldable, but also resilient and will therefore maintain its original shape even though momentarily crushed or distorted.

Many other objec-ts and advantages of the construction herein lshown and described will be obvious to those skilled in the art :from the disclosure herein given.

To this end my invention consists in 'the novel construction, arrangement and combination of parts herein shown and described and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings wherein like reference characters indica-te like or ycorresponding parts- Y Fig 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a casket and drop;

Fig. `2 is a secti-onal View of the complete drop as attached to the casket, taken along the lline 2--2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan elevational view of a drop before the ornamental c-overing or lining is attached;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view along the line 4 4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a perspective View of the resilient inner material employed in the drop or ledge roll; Y

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a portion of aV casket and ledge roll;

Fig. 7 is 'a partial sectional view taken on the line 1 1 of Fig. 6; and

Fig. 8 is a sectional view of the ledge roll taken on the line 8--8 of Fig. 6.

To produce a couch eect in a casket, I employ both the drop as shown in Figs. 2 and 7 and the ledge roll as shown in Figs. 6 and 8 as will hereinafter be described, employing the drop adjacent the front of the casket in all cases and preferably employing the ledge roll adjacent the ends of the casket in conjunction with the front `dro-p. However, theledge roll may be omitted if desired, an-d an -end drop used in place thereof, as sho-wn in Fig. l, as either combination will give the desired effect.

Referring now to the drawings, and more particul'arly to Fig. 1, I represents a casket having a front side Wall 2 and a drop designated generally by the Vnumeral 3 attached to the inner side there-of, adapted to hang and :depend from the top edge to simulate the appearance of a couch, or as is known in the trade, to'obtain a couch effect. As shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 4, this drop comprises a filler 4 of resilient material, which,

in the preferred embo'di-mentof my invention, is what is known in the rubber industry as Nukratt, and, as shown in Fig. 5, is composed of hair dipped in latex and formed in loops 5, which, in turn, are bonded to a fabric back thus form- -ing a very resilient lightweight material which readily resumes and maintains its original shape after being com-pressed or distorted.

The "Nukraft or other` filler material is cut to the shape desired, and if end drops are used in conjunction with a front drop, the adjacent ends of the side and end drops are mitere-d as shown at 'I of Figs. 1 and 3 so 'that the side and end drop-s will not interfere with each other when they are rotated or folded into the-casket when 'the latter is desired to be closed. The ller material is then covered with a pliable material 8. the edges there-of being turn-ed under as shown 4at grof Fig. 3, lafterwhich the whole is glued to the ller material to provide a body member Hl. The attaching flap II extends from the body portion I l), and in the preferred embodi-r ment of my invention, isl merely the free end of the covering material 8. The drop, including the nap IIy is then enclose-d in an envelope I2 of ornamental material such as that used in the inner lining of the casket. This ccve'ring'material is preferably allowed to drop below the lower edge of the body portion as shown at YI3 in Figs. 2 and 7. If an end drop is used, the covering material preferably extends in one continuous piece from the front drop to the end drop, as

shown at I4 in Fig. 1, thus giving the appear `proximately adjacent the top edge of therinner i Y I side Wall. Obviously, this tacking strip I5 may be attached to the casket in any of `the conventional Ways. The iiap Il may be of a length to position the `edge i6 of the drop on a line with the 'top edge I7 of the casket side Wall so that the cover envelope l2 will lie flat thereon when the -drop is Aplaced on the edge of the casket and allowed to hang or depend therefrom. If desired, the ap Il may be shortened slightly, as shown in Fig. '7, Ito draw the body portion i0 of the -drop up on the corner 2b of the top and front edges of the casket so that the `drop will be positioned at an angle, as shown in Fig. '7, rather than hanging vertically, `as shown in Fig. 2. In this position, the outer covering l2 will take substantially the position shown in Fig. 7, thus giving a Well padded appearance With no sharp corners or projections and accenting the couch effect.

The ledge roll designated generally by the numeral i8, as shown in Figs.'6 and 8,'comprises a body portion i9 preferably of Nukraft which is formed into a roll. The ends 2i] and 2i of the backing material 6 overlap one another, as shown in Fig. 8, and are glued together to form a tubular roll having an air space 22 in the center thereof. This roll is then enclosed'by ornamental covering material 23 similar to that used in the drop and interior of the casket, which for illustrative purposes is merely blocked in, the numeral 24 representing the outer edge thereof. The edges of the covering material are stitched together at 25, the portion extending therefrom providing a flap or strip 2b. The roll I 8 is attached to the casket by means ofthe flap 2% similar in manner to that of the drop3, the roll resting on the edge I1 approximately adjacent to the corner 29 of the casket. The ends 21`of the ledge roll are covered with similar material, and if desired, may be allowed to hang down, as shown at 2'3 Vof Fig. 6, to provide an ornamental effect.

To close the casket, thedrops 3 or ledge rolls I8 are merely lifted and-rotated into the casket, and if side drops are employed, as theV ends thereof are mitered, the end and'side drops will notfinterfere with one another when they are rotated into the casket. If a ledge roll or rolls are used, they are rotated into the casket in a manner similar to the drops, and if necessary, arev compressed or flattened slightly so they will take up little room, and due to the resiliency of the body portion !Q,vvill immediately resume their normal-position when again rotated out on the edge of the casket. Due, also, to the resiliency ofthe filler 4, the drop will yield when, for example, a person leans against the-casket and Will immediately spring back to its original normal position when the pressure is released, thus providing a drop which is at all times neat and uniform in appearance, and which is very durable.

Having thus described my invention it is obvious that various immaterial modifications may be made in the same without departing from the spirit of my invention; hence I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the exact form, construction, arrangement and combination of parts shown and described or uses mentioned.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A casket member of the kind described for attachment to a casket to provide a couch effect, comprising a body portion of a resilient material, and a flexible attaching iiap extending from said body portion, for securing said member to the casket side Wall.

2. A casket member` of the kind described for attachment to a casket to provide a couch effect, comprising a body portion of a resilient material, a pliable covering for said body portion and an attaching flap extending therefrom, for securing said member to the casket side Wall.

3. A casket member of the kind described for attachment to a casket to provide a couch effect, comprising a body portion of a resilient material, a pliable covering for said body portion, an attaching flap extending from said body portion for securing said member to the casket side Wall, and an ornamental envelope enclosing'both the flap and bodyportion.

4. A casket member of thev kind described for attachment to a casket to provide a couch effect, comprising a body portion of a resilient material consisting of a plurality of loops of latex dipped hair, a pliable covering for said body portion and an attachingfiap extending therefrom, for securingV said memberV to the casket sidewall.

5. A ledge rollv of the kind described for attachment to a casket to providea couch effect, comprising a substantially cylindrical body portion of a resilient material, -a pliable covering for said body portion and an attaching fiap extending therefrom.

6. Aledge rolly of the kind described for attachmentto a casket to provide a couch effect, comprising a substantially tubular body portion of a resilient-material,` and an ornamental covering for said bodyV portion, said-covering providing an attaching flap extending therefrom, said body portion compressible for insertion into the casket.

RICHARD J. DONNELLY. 

